Your Worst Tripod Story?

I have a few… the one below is not one of the better ones, btw.. but what are yours?

Daily Photo – The Stars Above Grand Central Station

I took this photo a few moments before getting kicked out for using a tripod. They said I could go sign up for a permit, but I told them I could not be bothered. I wasn’t mean about it, just sort of matter-of-fact. I asked if women with strollers needed to get a permit or men with canes, and they said of course not.

I would like to make a tripod that attached to a baby stroller. In fact, instead of the baby, I could put all my camera gear down there. So it could be a rolling camera-bag-stroller with tripod attachment. It would look crazy, but it would be kind of awesome too.

The Stars Above Grand Central Station

Photo Information

Date Taken2016-08-12 06:03:07

Camera

Camera Make

Exposure Time

Aperturef/5.6

ISO50

Focal Length14mm (14mm in 35mm)

Flashflash did not fire, compulsory flash mode

Exposure Programaperture priority

Exposure Bias

susan ratcliff

Super awesome shot – you are funny Trey! 🙂

dtalukdar

I was visiting the Qutb Minar and Complex (http://doubleconvex.com/?s=Qutb&x=0&y=0) in New Delhi, India… walking in through security with my very lightweight aluminium tripod (which actually belongs to my dad and is older than I am). The guards at the gates stopped me and made me check my tripod, at which point, I thought “ok, cool… I still have my GorillaPod in by bag”. Yeah… right… they went through every compartment in my bag and didn’t let me carry the GorillaPod in either.
Maybe they’ll come up with a something that unfolds from an innocuous shape into a tripod one of these days that gate staff and security people don’t recognise.

Paul Lovelace

Great shot, works so well in b&w. A similar situation happened to me when I was taking pictures in Hyde Park, London. Both public places !

Casper van Zyl

Enjoyed your humour,had a good laugh,but its so true, sometimes one has to be deceptive as bureaucracy has gone out the door.
We need to make ourselves walking sticks but don’ forget to limp when walking. The top part of the stick can be unscrewed displaying a screw thread for your camera. Any wood turner can do that for you and it can look authentic without any one knowing. Your excuse is when caught you need the stick for balance as well a support for your camera. ( Don’t forget to keep limping ) hehe!!

Robin

I have always thought a monopod that flicks out three hidden feet when you press a button would be a good invention.

Awesome shot, and questioning strollers & canes is justified, but in NYC (like in many popular places) counties want their share, so a permit is really just a fee.. true: who wants to bother with filing for a permit that’s only good for one specific location? ..so, a baby stroller without a baby, an odd cane without a limp.. “The Starts Above Grand Central” ..might as well aim higher & set a wheel-chair with custom sticks (that do not touch the ground), lock the wheels and shoot!

ec lundburgh

Another reason for small, mirrorless, full-frame cameras — mounted on a cane that has a flip-out tripod foot! but probably you’ll have to add the required limp :>)

When I was working on the story I did about the ‘American Cowboy’. I was caught up in a cattle drive and totally forgot about my gitzo traveler I had left on the side of the mountain. I realized it later, about a week later. No number of craigs list posts could recover it……..

I can see the value of control for tripods in high traffic areas. The idea is to capture a moment without interfering with its environment. isn’t it? Just being devil’s advocate…

On one trip, I was motivated by the promise of a beautiful sunset over Cambodia. I scrambled up some very steep, stone steps of a ruin at Angkor. At the top of the steps was a jungle-gym of tripods, with a handful of photographer monkeys swinging at arms length fighting for territory. I’m sure they all captured the moment very well… an inviting and warm sunset.

Perhaps i’m just irked for missing out on a good spot!

Interesting photo none-the-less Trey! I look forward to the ebook of the Top 10 Common Mistakes of Using a Baby Stroller as a Tripod. I hope it doesn’t catch on, it would be a nightmare at Angkor Wat.

Leslie Taylor

I envy your ease of using a tripod in various scenarios. I just moved to Tokyo which is a major change for me especially in regards to photography. I’m not used to have tons of people around looking at me and stuff, so I get uncomfortable with street photography and using tripods. I need to get used to it though because there are so many pictures I want to take that really require the use of a tripod. Any tips on how to get comfortable with these kinds of situations?

My worst tripod story wasn’t so much a bad experience as just totally ridiculous. I was at Rockefeller Center at 5 in the morning in December. The security guard and I were the only two people there. You can read about it here (also my first blog post ever): http://traverseearth.com/merry-christmas/